Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 38.7

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[1] When Perseus learned that the Aetolians were approaching, he abandoned the siege of the city he was investing and, merely plundering the fields, withdrew from Amphilochia and returned to Macedonia.

[2] The Aetolians too were called away from there by the devastation of their sea-coast. Pleuratus,¹ the king of the Illyrians, sailed into the Corinthian gulf with sixty cruisers and joining the ships of the Achaeans which were at Patrae was laying waste the coast districts of Aetolia.

[3] A thousand Aetolians sent against them, wherever the fleet went, following the indentations of the shoreline, would travel by shorter routes and meet them.

[4] Also the Romans before Ambracia, by battering at the walls with rams, had to a great extent laid bare the town, but nevertheless could not force their way into it;

[5] for with equal speed a new wall was thrown up to replace what had been destroyed and armed men, standing on the ruins, served as a fortification.

[6] Accordingly, since visibly applied force was not progressing well for the consul, he determined to dig² secretly a tunnel in a place formerly covered by his sheds, and for a considerable period, although the work was in progress day and night, not only the men digging beneath the ground but also those who were carrying out the earth went unnoticed by the enemy.

[7] Suddenly a rising mound of earth betrayed the work to the townspeople, and, fearing that the walls had already been undermined and a way opened into the city, they began to dig a ditch inside the wall in the direction of that work which had been covered by the sheds.³

[8] When they came to a depth as great as the bottom of the tunnel could have, they remained silent, and placing their ears against the walls in several places they listened for the sound of the diggers.

[9] When they heard this they opened a way straight into the tunnel, nor was this a difficult task; for in a moment they came into the open space where the enemy was supporting the roof on props.

[10] The works joining there, as the way was open from the trench to the tunnel, they began to fight, at first with the same tools which they had used in the work, then quickly armed men too came up and engaged in a hidden battle underground; later this fighting became more desultory, since they blocked the tunnel wherever they wished, now with curtains⁴ stretched across, now with hastily constructed doors.⁵ A new device as well, and one easy of execution, was thought out against the Romans who were in the tunnel.

[11] They prepared a cask pierced at the bottom, where a pipe of moderate size could be⁶ inserted, and likewise an iron pipe and an iron lid for the cask, this lid too being perforated in several places. This cask, filled with light feathers, they placed with its mouth facing the tunnel. They fixed in the holes in the lid the very long spears which they call

sarisae,

so as to keep the enemy at a distance.

[12] A light spark of flame, placed among the feathers, they fanned by blowing with a smith's bellows placed at the mouth of the pipe.

[13] Then, since smoke, not merely abundant in quantity, but, even more, unendurable by reason of the vile stench from the burning feathers, had filled the whole tunnel, scarcely anyone was able to remain within it.⁷

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 38.7 focus

[1] Perseus ubi adesse Aetolos audivit, omissa obsidione urbis, quam oppugnabat, depopulatus tantum agros Amphilochia excessit atque in Macedoniam redit.

[2] et Aetolos inde avocavit populatio maritumae orae. Pleura.tus, Pleuratus, llyriorum Illyriorum rex, cum sexaginta lembis Corinthiun Corinthium sinum invectus adiunctis Achaeorunm Achaeorum quae Patris erant navibus marituma Aetoliae vastabat.

[3] adversus quos mille Aetoli missi, quacumque se classis circumegerat per litorum amfractus, brevioribus semitis occurrebant.

[4] et Romani ad Ambraciam pluribus locis quatiendo arietibus muros aliquantum urbis nudaverant, nec tamen penetrare in urbem poterant;

[5] nam et pari celeritate novus pro diruto murus obiciebatur, et armati ruinis superstantes instar munimenti erant.

[6] itaque cum aperta vi parum procederet consuli res, cuniculum occultum vineis ante contecto loco agere instituit; et aliquamdiu, cum dies noctesque in opere essent, non solum sub terra fodientes sed egerentes etiam humum fefellere hostem.

[7] cumulus repente terrae eminens index operis oppidanis fuit, pavidique, ne iam subrutis muris facta in urbem via esset, fossam intra murum e regione eius operis, quod vineis contectum erat, ducere instituunt.

[8] cuiUs cuius ubi ad tantam altitudinem, quantae esse solum infimum cuniculi poterat, pervenerunt, silentio facto pluribus locis aure admota sonitum fodientium captabant.

[9] quem ubi acceperunt, aperiunt rectam in cuniculum viam nec fuit magni opens; operis: momento enim ad inane suspenso fulturis furculis ab hostibus muro pervenerunt.

[10] ibi commissis operibus, cum e fossa in cuniculum pateret iter, primo ipsis ferramentis, quibus in opere usi erant, deinde celeriter armati etiam subeuntes occultam sub terra ediderunt pugnam; segnior deinde ea facta est intersaepientibus cuniculum, ubi vellent, nunc ciliciis praetentis nunc foribus raptim obiectis.

[11] nova etiam haud magni operis adversus eos, qui in cuniculo erant, excogitata res. dolium a fundo pertusum, qua fistula modica inseri posset, et ferream fistulam operculumque dolii ferreum, et ipsum pluribus locis perforatum, fecerunt. hoc tenui pluma completum dolium ore in cuniculum verso posuerunt.

[12] per operculi foramina praelongae hastae, quas sarisas vocant, ad summovendos hostes eminebant. scintillam levem ignis inditam plumae folle fabrili ad caput fistulae imposito flando accenderunt.

[13] inde non solum magna vis fumi sed acrior etiam foedo quodam odore ex adusta pluma cum totum cuniculum complesset, vix durare quisquam intus poterat.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 43.7 focus

[1]

Cretensium legatis commemorantibus se quantum sibi imperatum a P. Licinio consule esset sagittariorum in Macedoniam misisse,

[2] cum interrogati non infitiarentur ¹ apud Persea maiorem numerum sagittariorum suorum ² quam apud Romanos militare, responsum est,

[3] si Cretenses bene ac naviter destinarent potiorem populi Romani quam regis Persei amicitiam habere,

[4] senatum quoque Romanum iis tamquam certis sociis responsum daturum esse. interea nuntiarent suis placere senatui dare operam Cretenses, ut quos milites intra praesidia regis Persei haberent eos primo quoque tempore domum revocarent.

[5] cretensibus cum hoc responso dimissis Chalcidenses vocati, quorum legatio ipso introitu movit, ³ quod Micythion, ⁴ princeps eorum, pedibus captus lectica est introlatus;

[6] ultimae necessitatis extemplo visa res, in qua ita affecto excusatio valetudinis aut ne ipsi quidem petenda visa foret aut data petenti non esset.

[7] cum sibi nihil vivi reliquum praeterquam linguam ad deplorandas patriae suae calamitates ⁵ praefatus esset, exposuit civitatis primum suae benefacta et vetera et ea, quae Persei bello praestitissent ducibus exercitibusque Romanis;

[8] tum quae primo C. Lucretius in populares suos praetor Romanus superbe, avare, crudeliter fecisset, ⁶ deinde quae tum cum maxime L. Hortensius faceret.

[9] quem ad modum omnia sibi, etiam iis, quae patiantur, tristiora, patienda esse ducant potius quam fide decedant, ⁷ sic, quod ad Lucretium Hortensiumque attineret, scire tutius fuisse claudere portas quam in urbem eos accipere.

[10] qui exclusissent eos, Emathiam, Amphipolim, Maroneam, Aenum incolumes esse. apud se templa omnibus ornamentis spoliata; compilataque sacrilegiis ⁸ C. Lucretium navibus Antium devexisse; libera corpora in ⁹ servitutem abrepta; fortunas sociorum populi Romani direptas esse et cotidie diripi.

[11] nam ex instituto C. Lucreti Hortensium quoque in tectis hieme pariter atque aestate navalis socios habere, et domos suas plenas turba nautica esse; versari inter se, coniuges liberosque suos, quibus nihil neque dicere pensi sit neque facere. ¹⁰

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 38.7 focus

[1]

Perseus ubi adesse Aetolos audivit, omissa obsidione urbis, quam oppugnabat, depopulatus tantum agros Amphilochia excessit atque in Macedoniam redit.

[2] et Aetolos inde avocavit populatio maritumae orae. Pleuratus, Illyriorum rex, cum sexaginta lembis Corinthium sinum invectus adiunctis Achaeorum quae Patris erant navibus marituma Aetoliae vastabat.

[3] adversus quos mille Aetoli missi, quacumque se classis circumegerat per litorum amfractus, brevioribus semitis occurrebant.

[4] et Romani ad Ambraciam pluribus locis quatiendo arietibus muros aliquantum urbis nudaverant, nec tamen penetrare in urbem poterant:

[5] nam et pari celeritate novus pro diruto murus obiciebatur, et armati ruinis superstantes instar munimenti erant.

[7] cumulus repente terrae eminens ¹ index operis oppidanis fuit, pavidique, ne iam subrutis muris facta in urbem via esset, fossam intra murum e regione eius operis, quod vineis contectum erat, ducere instituunt.

[8] cuius ubi ad tantam altitudinem, quantae esse solum infimum cuniculi poterat, pervenerunt, silentio facto pluribus locis aure admota sonitum fodientium captabant.

[9] quem ubi acceperunt, aperiunt rectam in cuniculum viam. nec fuit magni operis: momento enim ad inane suspenso furculis ab hostibus muro pervenerunt.

[11] nova etiam haud magni operis adversus eos, qui in cuniculo erant, ² excogitata res. dolium a fundo pertusum, qua fistula modica inseri posset, et ferream fistulam operculumque dolii ferreum, et ipsum pluribus locis perforatum, fecerunt. hoc tenui pluma completum dolium ore in cuniculum verso posuerunt.

[12] per operculi foramina praelongae hastae, quas sarisas vocant, ad summovendos hostes eminebant. scintillam levem ignis inditam plumae folle fabrili ad caput fistulae imposito flando accenderunt.

[13] inde non solum magna vis fumi sed acrior etiam foedo quodam nidore ex adusta pluma cum totum cuniculum complesset, vix durare quisquam intus poterat.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 38.7 focus

[1]

Perseus, on hearing of the approach of the Aetolians, having raised the siege of the city in which he was employed, and having ravaged the country, quitted Amphilochia, and returned into Macedon.

[2] The devastation of their sea-coast called away the Aetolians from this region. Pleuratus, king of the Illyrians, entered the Corinthian gulf with sixty barks, and having formed a junction with the ships of the Achaeans lying at Patrae, wasted the maritime parts of Aetolia.

[3] Against these one thousand Aetolians were sent, who, by taking short routes, met the fleet wherever it, while sailing around the indentations of the coast, attempted a landing.

[4] The Romans at Ambracia, by the battering of their rams in many places at once, laid open a great part of the city; but nevertheless were unable to penetrate into the heart of it.

[5] For instead of the wall knocked down a new one was raised with proportionate speed, while the armed men standing on the ruins, formed a kind of bulwark.

[6] The consul, therefore, when he made no progress by open force, resolved to form a secret mine, covering the ground first with his machines. And for a long time his workmen, though employed both night and day, not only in digging under the ground but also in carrying away the earth, escaped the observation of the enemy.

[7] A heap of it, however, rising suddenly, gave the townsmen intimation of their work, and terrified lest, the wall being undermined, a passage should be opened into the city, they determined to draw a trench within, opposite to the work that was covered with machines.

[8] In which when they reached such a depth as the bottom of the mine could well be, then keeping profound silence, having applied their ears to several different places, they endeavoured to catch the sound of the miners; which being heard, they opened a way directly towards them.

[9] Nor did it require much exertion, for they came in a short time to an open space where the wall was supported with props by the enemy.

[10] The works joining here, as the passage was open from the trench to the mine, the parties began to fight in the dark under ground, first of all with the tools which they had used in the works, but afterwards armed men came quickly up. Subse- quently the contest became less spirited; as the besieged stopped the passage, sometimes by stretching strong haircloths across it, sometimes by hastily placing doors in the way of their antagonists.

[11] A new engine, requiring no great labour, was invented against those who were in the mine. The besieged bored a hole in the bottom of a cask, by which a moderate-sized pipe could be inserted, and made an iron pipe and iron head for the cask, which was perforated in many places. They placed this cask, filled with small feathers, with its mouth turned towards the mine. Through the holes in the head of the cask projected those very long spears, which they call sarissas, to keep off the enemy.

[12] They kindled a small spark of fire, placed among the feathers, by blowing with a smith's bellows, inserted into the end of the pipe.

[13] After that the smoke arising from this, not only in great quantities, but also more offensive from the nauseous stench proceeding from the burnt feathers, had filled the mine, scarcely any one could stay within.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 38.7 focus

[1]

When Perseus heard that the Aetolians were approaching, he raised the siege of the city which he was attacking and, after devastating their fields, left Amphilochia and returned to Macedonia.

[2] The Aetolians, too, were called away by the ravages which were being committed on their sea-board. Pleuratus, king of the Illyrians, had sailed into the Gulf of Corinth with sixty ships, reinforced by the Aetolian vessels from Patrae, and was devastating the maritime districts of Aetolia.

[3] A force of 1000 Aetolians was despatched against him and by taking direct roads they were able to meet him at

[4] whatever point his fleet had, in its cruising in and out of the indented coast, tried to effect a landing. At Ambracia the Romans had battered down the walls in several places and partially laid bare the city, but they could not force their way into it.

[5] As fast as the wall was destroyed a new one was raised in its place and the citizens stood in arms on the fallen masonry to bar all approach.

[6] Finding that he was making very little progress by direct assault, the consul decided to construct a secret passage underground after first covering the place whence it started with vineae. Working day and night they succeeded for a considerable time in escaping the observation of the enemy, not only whilst they were digging but also whilst carrying away the earth.

[7] Suddenly the sight of a conspicuous mound of soil gave the townsmen an indication of what was going on. To avert the danger of the wall being undermined and a way into the city being thrown open, they began to run a trench inside the wall in the direction of the place covered with vineae.

[8] When they had excavated as low as the bottom of the secret passage would probably be, they remained perfectly silent, and by placing their ears

[9] against different places in the side of the trench they caught the sound of the enemy diggers. As soon as they heard this they broke through straight into the tunnel.

[10] There was no difficulty in doing this, for they quickly found themselves in an open space where the wall had been underpinned with timber props by the enemy.1 As the trench and tunnel now opened into one another the two parties of diggers commenced a fight with their digging tools. Very soon armed bodies came up on both sides and an underground battle began in the dark.

[11] The besieged closed up the tunnel in one place by stretching a screen of goats' hair across and improvising barricades, and they adopted a novel device against the enemy which was small but effective. A hole was bored through the bottom of a cask in which an iron pipe was inserted. and an iron cover perforated with several holes was prepared to fit the other end. The cask was then filled with light feathers, the cover fastened on, and through the holes some long spears-the so-called "sarissae"-were inserted to keep off the enemy.

[12] The cask was now placed with its head towards the tunnel and a light was placed amongst the feathers which were blown into a blaze by a pair of smith's bellows inserted in the pipe.

[13] The tunnel was soon filled with a dense smoke, rendered all the more pungent from the horrid smell of the burning feathers, and hardly a man could endure it.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. Cf. XXXIII. xxxiv. 11.

2. B.C. 189

3. The apparent meaning is that the trench of the defenders ran at right angles to the assumed direction of the tunnel. Polybius (XXII. xi) describes the trench as parallel to the city-wall.

4. Literally, garments made of the hair of goats.

5. Polybius ( l.c.) says that both sides protected themselves with shields ( qure/ous), and it has been suggested that Livy confused this word with qu/ras,

doors.

6. B.C. 189

7. Livy for some reason omits certain picturesque details given by Polybius ( l.c.), but otherwise follows him closely. Smoking out an enemy in mine-warfare was a recognized device (Aeneas Tacticus 37), but we need not consider this an example of the early use of chemicals for military purposes: cf. Lamer's review of Vatter,

Giftgase und Gasschutz

(Stuttgart, 1934), in Phil. Woch. 55, 1935, 202-204.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 38.7

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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